Dear Bob, here are some photos of my life here on the campus of Concordia Seminary. I love kids, working with the grounds crew, swimming, playing with my dog friends, and especially my own family people.

Twitter Updates

May 31, 2005

Brooklyn College's school of education has begun implementing a new standard for evaluating prospective teachers. This standard judges teacher candidates: "In part on their commitment to social justice, and is being called "dispositions". Dispostion, at Brooklyn College means, "students are guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values such as caring, fairness, honesty, responsibility, and social justice."

So how a future teacher feels about social justice is now a major standard in whether or not he/she gets accredited by the college. Give me a break. No wonder so many upper echelon education leaders despise the No Child Left Behind Act. It forces teachers to teach their subject matter and to see that their classroom students learn. And all the while they want to be teaching that "white people are oppressors" and other psuedo/social junk food. Give the kids a break and mind the math and reading and science and history and P.E. and drivers ed. My disposition is to despise this new education evaluation tool.

A week wouldn't be complete without a story from Chicago's new Millenium Park. Typical stories have dealt with the "Bean" Sculpture, but now the story is about an "explosion" of a rabbit population which is wreaking havoc with all the newly planted trees and flowers.

Having owned a couple of bunnies over the past 15 years we found this story from the Chicago Sun-Times very believable...and kind of cute. Of course it isn't our plants which are being eaten. Park supervisor, Ed Uhlir, "suspects the rabbits may have hoppity-hopped across the BP Bridge, the Frank Ghery-designed crossing that connects Millennium with the Daley Bicentennial Plaza. Or they may have snuck across Columbus Drive."

Park workers have trapped over 100 of the little guys and then released them into other Chicago area forest preserves which currently appear to have a low rabbit population. But the remaining rabbits, and there are many, have become so accustomed to people that:

"They're just about posing for pictures, now,'' said O'Neill. "I see people photographing them all the time. They're like a tourist attraction.''

"I've gone right up to them and they don't frighten. They don't even get out of the way,'' added Uhlir. "They just keep doing what they're doing.''

The MAtH (man about the house) and I agree that Dianne Isbell's Monday etiquette column in the Belleville News-Democrat is very topical today, Memorial Day, as she gives a few short pieces of advice about flag etiquette. But, as often happens with Dianne, there is just something in her wording that gives us a lot to talk about.

Me: Dianne is answering a question about the correct way in which to display or fly the flag today.

MAtH: That's a good idea, there are a lot of rules about that we really aren't aware of.

Me: Not to sound flip, but she goes about it in a way that is almost incomprehensible.

MAtH: Not Dianne!

Me: Her first paragraph is cluttered up with incessant explanatory words in parentheses and the added words are no more helpful than the original. Listen to her description of how to fly a flag at half staff, which is required until noon on Memorial Day: "To do so, the flag should be hoisted (or raised aloft) to the peak of the staff (or pole) for a moment, and then lowered to the half-mast (or half staff) point."

MAtH: I see what you mean, has American Legion across the street lowered their flag to half staff today?

Me: Yep, they did it very early this morning, I already took a picture of it.

MAtH: When did you do that? I see you had the dog out there with you.

Me: While you were reading the sports page. Anyhow, Dianne gets just a little Dianne-ish later in the column.

MAtH: uh oh, careful, flag etiquette is serious business.

Me: She says: "To lower the flag, however, it should be done slowly and with dignity. This is not a time to be talking or laughing with the neighbor, or visitors, or kicking at the dog who wants to play."

MAtH: mmmfffbwahahaha...sorry...hehhmmfpheh "kicking at the dog", where did that come from?

Me: She veered off into a rant about flags on pick up trucks too. "I really have to restrain myself when I see our flag being so improperly and disrespectfully flown or flapping on the sides of a pick up truck."

MAtH: Did she mention anything about how to display the large flags that are hung vertically? Remember a couple of years ago when we were trying to figure out how to hang ours? Do the stars face to the top left or top right?

Me: No, but I remember we went to a web site which had pictures of the correct way to display all manner of American flags. I took a picture of ours this morning too.

MAtH: Boy, what time did you get up?

Me: Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, a day when people were supposed to go out to Veteran's cemeteries and put flowers, flags and other decorations on the graves.

MAtH: When did Memorial Day first begin?

Me: According to this article, it began by order of a General from right here in Southern Illinois in 1868, John A. Logan. I didn't know that, that's pretty cool.

MAtH: I didn't know that either, I thought it began after WWI.

MAtH: Collinsville has a veterans parade and ceremony, what time does it start?

Me: Step off for the parade is at 10:30 and the ceremony at the VFW follows. Want to go? Its just down the street.

MAtH: I think I do. We all should take a little time to reflect on what everyone who fought for our country over the years did for us. A gift, the ultimate gift.

May 29, 2005

Roger Schlueter, the Belleville News-Democrat's "Answer Man" gets a question about why schools start so early in August rather than after Labor Day. The person sending the question thought the reason might be because of the Kent State riots back in the 70's. Whoa, that's a new one.

However, the man Schlueter went to for an answer, Belleville Superintendent of Schools, Jim Rosberg, gave his same old, same old, reason for everything that happens in education these days. He blamed the earlier opening of schools in the fall summer, on the No Child Left Behind Act. Rosberg has used the NCLB act as a reason for just about every question that comes his way educationally the past few years and this latest is really stretching the limits of credibility. Schools began starting earlier in the fall long before the NCLB act was even thought of. He has become something of a Pavlov's dog when school questions are asked of him, blame everything on the No Child Left Behind Act. Aarf

Sometimes the answer is as simple as, "School ends earlier and earlier in May, so we have to get going earlier in August to get in the required number of school days."

Calling all Sox fans, here is a quiz to test your knowledge of the team and its history. Sorry Cub fans.

Cubs' pitcher Mark Prior was hit by a line drive off the bat of Colorado Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe, which the Chicago Tribune claims screamed off the bat at 117 miles per hour. X-rays initially showed no serious injury, but an MRI later showed an elbow fracture.

While reading Peoria Pundit this morning I saw he had a blog map up on his site and I thought it was a worthwhile thing to have so I clicked the link on his and now have my own. It is a map of my area and shows how many other blogs are in the vicinity. Click on the number, which is 26 at this moment, and see some blogs from the Metro-East and St. Louis area. I know there are more, but the map did direct me to blogs I did not know existed. Its at the top left of the page.